SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

To store halyards or leave on mast?

9K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  zz4gta 
#1 ·
I live in Massachusetts. It is my first year as a sailboat owner and am in the process of decommissioning for the season. I have heard conflicting suggestions as to whether to leave my halyards attached to the mast for the winter. Some say it's not worth the hassle to remove, others say take them off. The halyards run internally appx 2/3 up to the top of the mast and then down the exterior. My same question also applies to the roller furl line? I did replace that line this summer and that was not that difficult to install. If I do not remove the halyards, should I cover them with a tarp or wrap in plastic? Is there a spray cleaning solution or some kind of spray protectant that could be added? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
 
#2 ·
To avoid unnecessary wear and weathering, it is wise to remove the lines by simply attaching the falls to a messenger line and pulling them out of the mast entirely to be re-installed in the spring. (Note which line came out of which sheave when doing so.) Soak/Wash the lines in luke-warm water (not Hot which will stiffen the line) with a little laundry soap and OxyClean and then rinse well with cool fresh water with a little fabric softener. Hang the lines to dry in your garage or basement and then coil neatly (figure of 8 coils) and hang in a spare closet until Spring recommissioning. Winter weather can be very tough on line with soot from heating oil/coal/wood etc. accumulating on the lines which allows moisture to form acids that weaken the line as does repeated freeze thaw cycles to the accumulated moisture in the line. Moreover, mold and mildew can form on/in the line even in very cold conditions. Your call...
 
  • Like
Reactions: fred1diver
#3 ·
As svHyLyte says, I'm sure it is better for the lines if they are removed. That said, I've never done it, and I don't know anyone up here (northern Lake Superior) who does. We're on fresh water, so perhaps that makes a difference. All I can say is that after over a decade of boat ownership, in a place where our lines our exposed to very harsh winters, I have noticed no significant impact due to winter weathering.

I will be leaving mine up again this year ... actually, I gotta pull my boat soon. Winter's getting too close :mad:.
 
#4 ·
A half way measure might be to attach messengers to the halyards, 'sky' them up to the masthead/top sheaves, and put the tails into bags for the winter. Some do that here... even though the boats stay afloat in many cases the usage drops dramatically.

This is most effective with internal halyards, of course, but could be done mast down or still standing (with mast down you won't need the haulback lines)
 
  • Like
Reactions: cruisingdream
#7 · (Edited)
A lot of racers used to do that just to protect the rope from uv damage particularly with tapered halyards where the core is exposed. That way you don't have the hassles of 're running the Halyard in spring. If you want to protect the rope that isn't inside the mast you can just coil it up at the base of the mast and bag it.
 
#5 ·
I remove most of mine for the 7 months of winter storage (in water). The Seward Harbor experiences lots of harsh wind thru the winter, not at all uncommon to have winds of hurricane force. I remove halyards just to keep the weather from beating them up.

If you use remove the halyards and use messenger lines be sure you route the messenger lines so as to minimize chafe over the winter. If you have internal halyards and the messengers part you'll have the wonderful task of re-routing lines through your mast. (Been there, done that)
 
#6 ·
We remove all running rigging each winter, doubling the lifespan. We wash, dry, coil, and store them in the attic until spring.

I duct tape the tracer line to the good line using a 6-8" long 3/4" strip of quality duct tape. I wrap the tape starting on the good line and spiraling down into the tracer then back up onto the good line so that there is about 3-4" of wrap on each. Then I roll the joint between both palms. Do not force a line that won't freely pass a sheave, work it back and girth until it passes. I've only lost 2 lines in the mast in 25 years and it was totally due to my cutting corners (don't use masking tape!!). Repeat in spring. I can do the whole boat in an hour or so.
 
#8 ·
I've been storing my boat with teh mast up in CT for over 15 years. I use 1/8" braided nylon as messengers. All of my running rigging has a loop at the bitter end, so it is simply a matter of securing the messenger ( I use the old trusty bowline). The messengers are labeled with white electrical tape tags to indicate which halyard it replaced.

Soaking the halyards in a bucket with soapy water (Woolite works) and a little bleach will freshen them up for the next season. It is also a good idea to tie off the messengers to minimize mast slap and the wear it produces. Even if you don't tie off the messengers, the mast slap will be much less destructive than the mast slap from the much heavier halyards.

BTW, there is a substantial amount of water that gets down the mast from all the holes that allow the halyards to pass in and out. If you don't seal the holes and have a keel-stepped mast, you might consider manually pumping out the bilge after a winter rain--and before it freezes, assuming you are in a freeze zone. I use a Thirsty Mate pump and a bucket.
 
#9 ·
A thin messenger line will suffice...but thin line can jump the sheave and wedge next to it, jamming. Either make darn sure you keep it tight or use a thicker messenger.

Its a good idea to stitch lines together with some whipping when pulling one line thru with another. Tape-only works until it doesn't!
 
#10 ·
Agree that a thin messenger can jump a sheave, but keeping the messenger-halyard pair under tension will likely prevent that. In 16 years I've never had the 1/8" messengers jump a sheave.

I do agree that taping the messenger to the halyard is a recipe for disaster. I've used the tape method for running wires in a cableway, as it provides for a "fair" transition, but it is a risky technique and doesn't work well with sharp bends.
 
#11 ·
I take all of my halyards and all running rigging home every fall and wash it all in warm water and soap then and I use fabric softener on it. You will be surprised at how dirty your water gets and how much softer they all are when dry.

I just duct tape about 4 inches of small messenger line to my halyards and pull them through. Of course I take my mast down every year so if one lets go it is not a big deal to fish it back though.

Don't use a natural fibre like sisal as it will rot by spring and give you major headache. Don't ask how I know this :(
 
#12 ·
Hi csharp56,

I also live in MA, but keep my boat in RI. Every year I attach one messenger line to all of my halyards, and run them up the mast. In the spring, I carefully pull them back down.

The advantage is that I am preventing UV damage on all but the ends of the line. If necessary, I can splice a new eye in the halyards.

Regarding the roller furling line; I remove it and store it with the jib sheets in the V berth.

Welcome to SailNut!
 
#13 ·
The advantage is that I am preventing UV damage on all but the ends of the line. If necessary, I can splice a new eye in the halyards.
After a number of years of weathering, I flip the halyards end for end, putting a new eye on the old tail. Since half our halyards are always inside the mast, this exposes shiny new line. The combination of removing lines each winter and flipping them at half life, gives me at least 10 years out of a halyard.

To me, old, moldy lines are depressing as are rat's nest piles of uncoiled lines lying on deck. There is an old saying that "ye can tell the measure of a sailor by the way they keep their lines" or something salty like that. I think that it's quite true.
 
#14 ·
I never used to pull the running rigging. Then I replaced all of the lines on my catboat three years ago and realized just how expensive those little buggers are. Well over $1k for Endura 12 lines on my 22. It is a cat, with 8 lines for that one sail, but still, significant. I now clean and store the lines at home, which has the side benefit of keeping them looking much fresher compared to the grey weathered look of older lines.
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
I always remove all the halyards when putting the boat up for any amount of time. UV is tough on expensive line. I just buy some cheap 1/4" nylon or poly, attach the bitter end of the halyard and run them up through the sheaves/blocks and tie them off nice and tight. Have never had a problem doing this. I need to get some dedicated small line and hide it somewhere because it always seems to get used for something else and is not there when needed. Presently, my spinnaker halyard is still up, rotting in the sun because I could not find another piece of small line to do this last halyard before buttoning the boat up. Grrrrr.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top